Festive Books That Are Like Hallmark Movies on Paper

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Keenan Living Room with Christmas Tree — Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

If you like nothing better than a cozy novel set during the holiday season, you're in the right place. A festive novel about family, friendship, and finding love is right at home on bookshelves come December, so we've gathered a few of our favorite finds for this season. Read on for some cheery novels that have love stories aplenty, as well as more than a few unexpected twists and turns. Some of these novels you may have heard of, and some may be new to you, but all will be great holiday reads. (They're perfect for sneaking chapters between gift wrapping, tree trimming, and snowman building.) They're also fun to read during other seasons, and they can help channel some of that festive spirit when the holidays are far away. So grab a spot on the couch and settle in with a fun read.

01 of 13

Once Upon a December by Amy E. Reichert

A Milwaukee Christmas market brings two holiday-loving people together in Amy E. Reichert's cheery novel. In it, two characters (with holiday-ready names Astra Noel Snow and Jack Clausen) are thrown together on snowy streets.

02 of 13

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

A spontaneous work-trip-turned-vacation is bound to bring romance in Jasmine Guillory's fun, U.K.-set novel Royal Holiday.

03 of 13

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Holiday spirit and gift giving are at the heart of Sophie Kinsella's funny novel that finds a woman named Becky dealing with a bevy of Christmastime demands.

04 of 13

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

Hanukkah comes with a love story in this lively new novel by Jean Meltzer, which takes place during the Matzah Ball, a musical celebration.

05 of 13

Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan

Spreading holiday cheer through anonymous book deliveries is the wintry magic in Anne Marie Ryan's Christmas by the Book. It's set in small-town England and finds two booksellers struggling to get through the season.

06 of 13

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

Identical twins swap lives–and might just find what they're missing–in this holiday-set romance about two sisters leaving the everyday behind.

07 of 13

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

A Christmas Eve snowstorm is the backdrop for this holiday story, which encompasses three intertwined tales about sparking connections during the festive season.

08 of 13

Always, in December by Emily Stone

A bicycle collision leads to a rocky holiday romance in Emily Stone's Always, in December, a novel set in the English countryside.

09 of 13

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Friendship and true love are at the heart of Josie Silver's much-loved holiday novel One Day in December. It's set in London, where fate has a hand in weaving a years-long journey through friendship and love.

10 of 13

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

A woman spends an unexpected holiday season in a dusty old Edinburgh bookshop in this charming novel about family and fate.

11 of 13

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Groundhog Day gets a holiday makeover in this quirky romance by Christina Lauren. In it, a womand has to find a way to change her life or be trapped in a daze of days.

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A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli

The setting for Sonya Lalli's new novel is India during the annual fall Diwali celebrations, where a woman is on a trip bound for love.

13 of 13

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

The classic holiday song gets a love-story twist in Jenny Bayliss's novel about a woman who allows a dating agency to set her up on a December of meet-ups, some of which she wishes she'd skipped.

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